Our next Stay Strong Workshop is this Thursday! There’s so much buzz about protein right now. This workshop cuts through it. ✔️ How to calculate your personal protein target ✔️ Why protein matters more as we age ✔️ The science of amino acids (including leucine — the muscle trigger) ✔️ How to build a strategic daily plan you can actually follow And we won’t just talk theory. You’ll: • Fill out a worksheet • Choose real meals • Adjust with protein boosts • Leave with a strategic daily plan If you’ve ever wondered: “Am I eating getting enough to fuel my body?" “Why does breakfast matter so much?” “Why is 30 grams or more recommended?” You’ll walk away with answers and tools for implementing 🗓 Thursday🕗 8 ET | 7 CT | 6 MT | 5 PT📍 Live on Zoom This is normally part of Premium, but during launch month, I want everyone to experience the value. Check the calendar for the registration link and I will also post in the comments. Let’s build strength on purpose. 💪

I’ve been following Dr. Gabrielle Lyon since I heard her speak last year. I am diving into Chapter 2: How to Eat in her new book, The Forever Strong Playbook. So many pink highlights in my copy! Here are a few takeaways and reminders that really stood out: If we don’t eat enough essential amino acids, the body prioritizes organs over muscle. Muscle matters especially as we age. We’re constantly rebuilding protein in the body. It’s not “extra.” It’s foundational. Overnight, we go catabolic, which makes a high-protein first meal incredibly important to shift back into building mode. And cutting calories too aggressively can cost us the very muscle and organ tissue we’re trying to protect. What do I love most? This aligns beautifully with what I’ve been learning, teaching, and refining over the past few years — especially for women 40+. Prioritizing protein, protecting lean mass, and supporting metabolism in a sustainable way. Special Offer: If you sign up for my Leaner for Life Premium Meal Plan Pilot before the end of February, I’ll put your name into a drawing for a copy of The Forever Strong Playbook! Check out the Classrrom tab right here in our group for more info on all that is included in the Premium Meal Plan. 💪

We went to Mass this morning for Ash Wednesday — and it was school Mass. As I watched the children file in — the kindergarteners being gently directed by the 7th and 8th graders — and settle into the pews, memories flooded back. I saw my son in both roles. The little one being mentored. The older one becoming the mentor. Different school. Similar culture. Same faith. A wave of gratitude washed over me — for our faith and for the steady rhythm of the liturgical seasons. There is something deeply comforting about the regularity of it all. Weekly rituals. Seasonal rituals. The familiar feel of ashes traced in the sign of the cross. The quiet beginning of Lent. It felt familiar in the best way — and yet, somehow, different. Lent is a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. A time of penance. A time to return. In his homily, the priest reminded us how easy it is to turn Lent into another to-do list — checking off spiritual obligations as if we’re completing a task. But that isn’t what God is after. He isn’t looking for a perfectly executed plan.He’s inviting us into a closer walk with Him. He wants more of us. More of our heart. More of our time. More of our trust. The difference this year isn’t in the call — it’s in me. I’m more at peace. More aware. More ready to say, “Yes, Lord. I’m Yours.” As we begin this Lenten journey together, I invite you to reflect: What would it look like for you to move beyond a Lenten checklist…and into a deeper surrender?

A friend on Facebook sent me this passage from the spiritual classic “The Imitation of Christ” this morning and it grabbed my attention and my heart. Thomas à Kempis doesn’t sugarcoat it. The cross is not optional. It awaits us everywhere. The only question is not if we will carry one — but how. I remember the first time I picked up The Imitation of Christ many years ago. I was drawn to it because of its reputation as a spiritual classic. But when I started reading it, it felt so deep… so direct… almost too intense. I never finished it. It asked more of me than I was ready to give at the time. Now, all these years later, I feel ready to return to it. (At least this morsel to start with). What struck me most in this passage is the difference between willing and unwilling surrender. When we resist the cross — whether it’s a difficult family relationship, a financial burden, a health challenge, a strained relationship, a sacrifice we’re being invited to make — we increase the burden. We tighten around it. We complain. We carry it alone. But when we take it up willingly and yoke ourselves to Jesus, something shifts. The burden doesn’t disappear. But it becomes shared. And when we are yoked to Him, the load is lighter — not necessarily because life is easier, but because we are not pulling it by ourselves. I’m planning to embrace this passage as part of my Lenten journey. Something to contemplate… Where am I resisting? Where am I trying to cast away a cross that may actually be the very path to deeper peace? What would it look like to carry it willingly — hand in hand with Christ? Maybe the invitation for us isn’t to go searching for a different path. Maybe the “royal way of the holy cross” is already right in front of us. I’d love to hear from you: As you look toward Lent, what is one area of your life where you sense God inviting you to carry your cross more willingly? Let’s walk this together — body, mind, and spirit — yoked to the One who carries it with us. 🤍

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Here's the latest from the test kitchen. Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Bars No-Bake • Freezer Friendly • Protein-Boosted Peanut Butter Base ¾ cup natural peanut butter ⅓ cup honey 1½ cups rolled oats ⅓ cup vanilla protein powder 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted 1 tsp vanilla (optional) Chocolate Topping 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted ¼ cup chocolate protein powder* Directions (Food Processor – Recommended) Melt the coconut oil and divide: • 2 Tbsp for base • 1 Tbsp for topping Add peanut butter, honey, 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil, vanilla, protein powder, and oats to food processor. Process until fully combined and slightly sticky. Press firmly into a parchment-lined 9x9 pan. (Use an 8x8 pan for thicker bars.) Melt chocolate chips with 1 Tbsp coconut oil. Stir in the chocolate protein powder until smooth. Spread evenly over base. Freeze 1–2 hours until set. Slice into 16 bars. Store refrigerated or frozen. Note: You can mix everything by hand in a bowl for a slightly chunkier texture. Approximate Nutrition (Per Bar – 16 Servings) Calories: ~235 Protein: ~9–10g Carbohydrates: ~22g Fiber: ~3–4g Fat: ~14g Protein Powder Recommendation I recommend Shaklee Life Shake® because it provides: 20g protein per serving 25 vitamins & minerals Gluten-free No added sugar